Steve Dunning

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1970-1977)

Steve Dunning was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1977 for 5 teams, including the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 8 seasons. Across 136 career appearances, he went 23-41 with a 4.56 ERA and 390 strikeouts.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 23–41
ERA 4.56
WHIP 1.51
SO 390
Pitcher PIV -14731.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 205 lb
Born
5/15/1949 in Denver, CO, USA
MLB Debut
1970-06-14
Last Game
1977-09-30

Full name: Steven John Dunning

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Career Pitching Statistics

Steve Dunning — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
23 41 136 84 7 1 1 613.2 604 311 82 323 390 4.56 -14731.6

Career ERA 4.56 vs. league average 3.65 across their career seasons — 25.0% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Steve Dunning Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1970 CLE AL 4 9 19 17 0 0 0 94.1 93 52 54 77 4.96 3.89 (-28%) -2758.1
1971 CLE AL 8 14 31 29 3 1 1 184.0 173 92 109 132 4.50 3.47 (-30%) -5394.2
1972 CLE AL 6 4 16 16 1 0 0 105.0 98 38 43 52 3.26 3.26 (avg) -3554.4
1973 CLE AL 0 2 4 3 0 0 0 18.0 17 13 13 10 6.50 3.75 (-74%) -593.8
1973 TEX AL 2 6 23 12 2 0 0 94.1 101 56 52 38 5.34 3.75 (-43%) -2866.3
1974 TEX AL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2.1 3 5 3 1 19.29 — 0.0
1976 CAL AL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 6.0 9 5 6 4 7.50 — 0.0
1976 MON NL 2 6 32 7 1 0 0 91.1 93 42 33 72 4.14 3.51 (-18%) 1057.5
1977 OAK AL 1 0 6 0 0 0 0 18.1 17 8 10 4 3.93 4.00 (+2%) -622.3
Career · 9 seasons 23 41 136 84 7 1 1 613.2 604 311 323 390 4.56 — -14,732

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Steve Dunning — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
145 134 11 26 2 0 4 12 0 10 49 .194 .248 .299 .547 -248

Career AVG .194 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 23.8% below league average.

Career OBP .248 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — 22.9% below league average.

Career SLG .299 vs. league average .374 across their career seasons — 20.2% below league average.

Career OPS .547 vs. league average .696 across their career seasons — 21.4% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Steve Dunning Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1970 CLE AL 19 31 0 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 14 .161 — — — — 0.0
1971 CLE AL 32 55 5 10 1 0 1 7 0 4 19 .182 .249 (-27%) .316 (-26%) .365 (-30%) .682 (-28%) -247.7
1972 CLE AL 20 33 6 9 1 0 3 4 0 3 9 .273 — — — — 0.0
1973 CLE AL 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1973 TEX AL 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1974 TEX AL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 CAL AL 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1976 MON NL 32 15 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 .133 — — — — 0.0
1977 OAK AL 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 145 134 11 26 2 0 4 12 0 10 49 .194 — — — — -248

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (281 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Steve Dunning — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home76628938.145
Away697231714.236

Pitching — Home / Away

Steve Dunning — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home71328.13281661732104.55
Away65285.12761451501804.57

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Steve Dunning — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1977-09-30 OAKTEX — 1.0200000
1977-09-27 OAKKCR W 2.1300000
1977-09-25 OAKTEX — 3.2222210
1977-09-06 OAKCHW — 3.0322002
1977-08-23 OAKTOR — 3.1433620
1977-08-15 OAKCLE — 5.0311210
1976-10-02 WSNCHC — 2.0211220
1976-09-28 WSNNYN — 2.0111021
1976-09-25 WSNPHI — 2.0200010
1976-09-22 WSNNYN — 2.0100010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Steve Dunning — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 136 84 41 105 12 3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Steve Dunning — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1970 CLE P 19 17 7 17 2 2
1971 CLE P 31 29 13 38 2 0
1972 CLE P 16 16 2 16 2 0
1973 CLE P 4 3 0 3 0 0
1973 TEX P 23 12 9 14 3 0
1974 TEX P 1 0 1 0 0 0
1976 CAL P 4 0 0 1 1 0
1976 MON P 32 7 8 13 2 0
1977 OAK P 6 0 1 3 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Steve Dunning Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 136

College History

Steve Dunning — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Stanford University Palo Alto CA 1968, 1969, 1970

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Steve Dunning (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Balor Moore
    28-48, 4.52 ERA
  2. 88
    Willie Banks
    33-39, 4.75 ERA
  3. 85
    Charlie Puleo
    29-39, 4.25 ERA
  4. 79
    Joe Decker
    36-44, 4.17 ERA
  5. 78
    Bill Butler
    23-35, 4.21 ERA
  6. 76
    Scott Scudder
    21-34, 4.80 ERA

Steve Dunning: the record in brief

Between the debut on June 14, 1970 and the final game on September 30, 1977, Steve Dunning built the record summarized on this page. By club, Dunning's seasons break down as the Cleveland Indians (1970 through 1973), the Texas Rangers (1973 to 1974), the California Angels (1976), the Montreal Expos (1976), and the Oakland Athletics (1977). Dunning played primarily as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on May 15, 1949, in Denver, CO, USA and a listed size of 6 feet, 2 inches and 205 pounds. The given name on file is Steven John Dunning.

Across 136 games (84 starts), Dunning recorded 23 wins against 41 losses with a 4.56 ERA. Dunning had 390 strikeouts. The league ERA over Dunning's seasons was 3.65, so the 4.56 figure ran 25.0% worse than average. 1971 brought Dunning a season-high 8 wins. 1971 was Dunning's sharpest full season, a 4.50 ERA against the league's 3.47.

Frequently Asked Questions about Steve Dunning

What years did Steve Dunning play?
Steve Dunning played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1977.
Was Steve Dunning a pitcher?
Yes. Steve Dunning pitched in the major leagues, recording 23 wins and 390 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Steve Dunning hit?
Steve Dunning hit 4 career home runs with 26 hits.
What teams did Steve Dunning play for?
Steve Dunning played for 5 teams: the Cleveland Indians (1970–1973), the Texas Rangers (1973–1974), the California Angels (1976), the Montreal Expos (1976), and the Oakland Athletics (1977).
What were Steve Dunning's career stats?
In 136 games, Steve Dunning went 23-41 with a 4.56 ERA, 390 strikeouts, 613.2 innings pitched, and 1 saves.
What position did Steve Dunning play?
Steve Dunning played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Steve Dunning and how much did he weigh?
Steve Dunning was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 205 pounds.
What was Steve Dunning's career ERA?
Steve Dunning finished with a 4.56 career ERA, going 23-41 with 390 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Steve Dunning have?
Steve Dunning recorded 390 career strikeouts.
Is Steve Dunning in the Hall of Fame?
No. Steve Dunning has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.